Shortly after taking office as MIT’s 16th president in late 2004, Dr. Susan Hockfield announced the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) — a major new strategy that could forge a significant part of her legacy. MITEI’s aim is “to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by...

Over the past two decades, automation has transformed industries as diverse as banking, retail, and automobile manufacturing. Superior implementation of automated procedures can be a source of both cost reduction and competitive advantage. For example, Amazon has been able to use its mastery of information technology and automation to deliver goods cheaper...

While riding my bike along the roads of the Billerica campus of British Petroleum, I stopped for a second to gaze at a stop sign near a guardhouse. The outer edge of the red hexagonal plate was decorated with small light bulbs powered by deep blue solar panels. I was amazed to see photovoltaics popping up on the campus of one of the world’s largest...